Chapter 13: Restoration Ecology

Because of the extensive channeling of water that once entered the Everglades, the region has experienced a ______ percent loss of its wading birds.

90

The goal of restoration is to return a biological community to its predisturbance structure and function.

True

True or False: The goal of restoration is to return a biological community to its predisturbance structure and function.

True

True or false: Floods threatening wealthy coastal cities triggered a demand for shunting of rivers in the Florida Everglades ecosystem to bring water out to sea.

True

______ act as water purification systems, removing silt and toxins.

Wetlands

What was the problem that ecologists encountered when they discussed restoring land in the Hassayampa River Preserve in Phoenix?

Which landscape should they rebuild since there was more than one depending on the time line.

Bioremediation is ______.

a growing strategy that uses living things, especially plants and/or bacteria, to selectively eliminate toxins from the soil

This image shows an example of a(n) ______.

artificial system that, although a useful method of dealing with erosion and urban floodwater, calls for a need to rebuild streams

In the Nature Conservancy's Hassayampa River Preserve near Phoenix, restoration ecologists found themselves confronted with the philosophical question of whether to restore an area to ______.

its natural state or to that of an earlier agricultural landscape

Bioremediation is considered to be a(n) ______.

growing and useful strategy to eliminate toxins from the soil

The rich, black swamps of the Everglades originally were drained for ______.

growing crops

Concrete-lined ditches such as the one seen in this image are becoming ______.

less and less common, as the value of rebuilding streams to their natural condition is realized

The process of wetland _____ , or replacing a damaged wetland with a substitute, does not require that developers replant or restore the _____ species.

mitigation wetland

Scientists are looking for corals that can withstand ______ so that these types may be grown and used to restore reef systems in the future.

more acidic water polluted water warmer water temperatures

Allowing fresh ______ to escape the levee system in New Orleans allows for the rebuilding of marshes and wetlands, and encourages the growth of vegetation. This also reduces the intrusion of saltwater up the river.

muddy water

Invasion by exotic species coupled with physical changes caused by human actions can sometimes bring about a state called a(n) ______ ecosystem.

novel

_____ ecosystems are those which are the result of invasion by exotic species coupled with physical changes caused by human actions.

novel

Wetlands occupy less than 5% of the land in the United States, but we estimate that up to ______ of all endangered species spend at least part of their lives in wetlands.

one-third

The destruction of most wetlands in the United States has been caused by ______.

people filling them in so the land can be used for development

Prairie _____ are small, shallow ponds and grassy wetlands that once spread across the prairies from Alberta to Kansas.

potholes or pot-holes

In order to help restore Gulf Coast wetlands, gaps in the levees are allowing _____ and freshwater to flow back into the system instead of being either stuck behind the levees or flowing directly out to the deeper ocean.

sediments or mud

Prairie potholes are ______.

shallow ponds and grassy wetlands that once spread from Alberta to Kansas

Bank _____ is an important step in stream restoration and often includes recontouring, planting vegetation, and using erosion control fabric to obtain a slope no greater than 45 degrees.

stabilization, stabilizing, or stability

Physical stressors to an ecosystem that are removed or corrected first in restoration projects typically include ______.

vehicle traffic and pollutants water flow

Beginning in 1972, multiple rules have been imposed to protect ______ from destruction. Prior to this, most people drained them or filled them in, even with the support of government agencies.

wetlands

1. To return a biological community as nearly as possible to a pristine, predisturbance condition 2. To develop a self-sustaining, useful ecosystem with as many of its original elements as possible

1. strict 2. broad

1. Hawaii 2. Indonesia 3. U.S. Virgin Islands

1. vacuums are used to suck up invasive algae 2. indigenous groups are encouraged to stop using cyanide and dynamite for fishing 3. officials are working to reduce all types of runoff from the land

A stream slope that is recontoured in order to stabilize the banks should be no steeper than ______ degrees.

45

Which of the following have been a consequence of the extensive diversion of the waters in Everglades National Park?

Cities have experienced water shortages during dry seasons. Ninety percent of the wading birds have been lost.

Bioremediation is a growing strategy that uses living things, especially plants or _____ , to selectively eliminate toxins from soil or groundwater.

bacteria

Scientists are growing _____ in nurseries and looking for species that are naturally tolerant of warmer and more acidic conditions in order to help restore damaged reef systems.

corals

Coarse woody debris can be used to ______ in a stream.

create fish habitat

Coarse woody debris can be used to ______ in a stream.

create fish habitat create shelter for fish create hiding places for fish

Coastal wetlands in New Orleans provide important protection for the shoreline ______ but have been lost due to channeling for navigation and oil exploration.

during storm surges

One-third of all ______ species spend at least some of their lives in wetlands.

endangered

One method of treating land that is severely contaminated with organic pollutants is to ______.

excavate and incinerate the soil

The field of ecological _____ attempts to repair damage caused to natural ecosystems by activities such as logging, filling of wetlands, and pollution of air and water.

restoration

Using vacuums to suck up invasive algae, reducing sediment and pollution runoff, and removing urchins that eat coral are all ways in which we are working to protect and restore _____ systems.

reef

Rank the five components of restoration projects in order of occurrence, placing the first step of the process on the top.

removal of physical stressors control of invasive species replanting captive breeding and reintroduction of fauna monitoring

Wetland mitigation refers to the process of ______.

replacing a damaged wetland with a substitute

A strict definition of ecological _____ would be to return a biological community, as nearly as possible, to a pristine state.

restoration